


Face the Sky

by wendybirb



Series: To the Ed and Back [1]
Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: M/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 07:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10939734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendybirb/pseuds/wendybirb
Summary: "Okay, so let's say I'm the Earth, alright? You're the sun."Wherein Eddy has a hard time coming to grips with his friends leaving him and copes by making terrible space analogies.





	Face the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written for this fandom before but after rewatching the series with my brother, I figured I'd give it a shot. 
> 
> I made a playlist while I wrote this if you're interested in that kinda [thing](https://open.spotify.com/user/orionsbeltloops/playlist/3GchqeIK7XQkaGx1Al1TXr).

An empty bottle lay forgotten against the beam of an old, creaky swing set. The park was quiet save for the sounds of the wind rustling the leaves and the occasional metallic squeak coming from the two occupied swings. 

It was a summer night, and it was warm and dry, the sky clear and lit by many visible stars. 

The sound of sneakers dragging on dirt cut through the silence as one of the swings came to a halt, the occupant twisting slightly to look at his companion. 

"I's weird, ain't it?" Eddy slurred, the toe of his sneaker digging into the dirt. "How you c'n jus' go through life doin' one thing, then it just..." he trailed off, his gaze turned away from his friend and now focused on the dark treeline off in the distance. 

Edd, who had been sitting in slightly inebriated silence, turned in his swing, the chains rattling as he did so, and fixed his friend with a bemused look. 

"It just what?" he asked, his speech slowed to aid in his pronunciation. He wasn't so far gone as to completely slur his words like his two lifelong friends, but he had a tendency of speaking too quickly and stumbling over his words after a few drinks. 

"Everything just changes, D," Eddy supplied after another long moment of silence, his gaze still fixed on the trees. 

"Well, of course everything changes, Eddy. That's all a part of life."

"Tha's not what I mean," Eddy said, his tone solemn. He slouched further into the swing and rested his elbows on his thighs, his chin propped in his hands, before he finally looked back at Edd. 

"What did you mean then? Is something bothering you?" Edd asked and fought the urge to reach across and touch Eddy's shoulder. He normally wouldn't hesitate in doing so, but Eddy had become more averse to any displays of affection in their last two years of high school, his annoyance only increasing after they had all graduated. This unspoken gap had formed between them all some time during high school, and none of them seemed able to cross it. 

Eddy shrugged in response and turned his head away again as the sounds of Ed barreling through the trees in the distance could be heard.

Edd wanted desperately to continue their conversation but knew it would be fruitless to try now that the third member of their trio had made a reappearance. 

"Where the hell did you run off to, Lumpy?" 

Ed ran up to them and plopped in the dirt at their feet, his legs stretched out in front of him. "I became one with nature, Eddy!" he said and grinned up at his two friends. 

Eddy rolled his eyes and kicked at his outstretched foot, while Edd merely giggled behind his hand, finding his larger friend's drunken antics more amusing than anything. 

"I thought I saw a frog, but it was a rock."

"Your brain's a rock," Eddy responded and pushed himself back in the swing, his feet planted in the dirt and his legs stretched out.

Ed gave a short chuckle in response then hopped up and took off again, this time toward the roundabout. The force of his jump sent him spinning wildly, his laughter still audible over the sounds of the rusted metal. 

"Ed, be careful! You could hurt yourself!" Edd called after him, the mother hen in him quickly taking over.

"Ah let 'im have his fun. He's gotta learn sometime," Eddy chimed in, quickly halting Edd before he could get up off his swing. "'Sides, I ain't done talkin' to ya."

Edd threw one last anxious look Ed's way before turning his attention back on Eddy. "What is it, Eddy? You haven't been acting yourself lately."

The chains started squeaking again as Eddy lifted his feet, letting his swing move freely. His hands gripped the chains and his legs remained still as he slowly came to a stop after a few shallow swings. Edd stayed silent as he waited for Eddy's answer, his own hands gripping the chains tightly. 

"I don' want things to be different," Eddy said, his gaze on his lap. 

Edd felt the urge to touch him again but pushed it down deep, his worry for one of his dearest friends only growing at the other's uncharacteristic silence. "What's going to be different?" Edd asked, his hands still gripping the chains. His knuckles were almost white from the force it took to stop himself from breaching the gap. It used to be so easy too, a comforting arm around the shoulder here, a friendly hug there. He doesn't know what happened. 

"Yer kiddin' right?" Eddy shot back, the characteristic sneer taking over his expression. "What isn't gonna be different? You're leavin' us!" 

The last was said with a shout, a shout that startled Ed into stopping his crazed spinning and caused a deep frown on Edd's face. 

"Eddy, I-"

"Just shut up a minute, will ya?" Eddy interrupted. "I've got somethin' to say, somethin' important, so shut your yap and listen." Eddy paused then looked in Ed's direction. "That goes for you too," he added. 

Ed quietly got up from his tangled spot on the roundabout and made his way back to his friends, taking his former spot in the dirt at their feet. He made a motion of zipping up his lips and grinned up at Eddy, who was now looking slightly annoyed. 

"Alright, um," Eddy paused and looked back at his hatted friend who was sitting quietly but looking at him with such sincerity that he felt a new flood of courage to say what he needed to. "Okay so, let's say I'm the Earth, alright? You're the sun."

Edd was silent for a moment, thinking, and was about to ask Eddy to clarify when Ed spoke up. 

"What am I, Eddy?"

"You're the moon, Ed," Eddy added, his gaze still on Edd. 

"Cool," Ed responded, a goofy grin on his face. 

Edd spared his tall friend a fond smile before looking Eddy's way again and waiting for him to continue. 

"You're, like, the center of everything. The good, the light, whatever. Who knows where me and Lumpy would be if you hadn't shown up all those years ago."

Edd was smiling at him now, a smile that hit Eddy straight in the gut and made his palms sweat. He released the chains of his swing and wiped them on his thighs. 

"I know I haven't always been a good friend, and I've gotten you into a lot of trouble in the past, but," he paused and let out a deep sigh, looking Edd in the eyes again. "I hope you don't forget about us when you hit the big time. I'm gonna miss you, Sockhead."

Edd looked close to tears even with the smile still stretched across his face. He stood from his swing and moved forward, his arms wrapping around Eddy's still seated form. He squeezed tight, his face pressed into Eddy's neck, and released a shuddering breath when he felt Eddy's arms wrap around him too. Unspoken gap be damned. 

"Ed wants a hug too!" the aforementioned said before hopping up and scooping both his friends up into his grip. 

Edd's muffled laughter could be heard from where he was still caught against Eddy's shoulder. Eddy grumbled halfheartedly and managed to wiggle one of his arms free, looping it behind Ed's back. He could feel his fingers brush Edd's where he had done the same, but neither of them pulled away. 

They'd already hugged for much too long when Eddy finally shoved his friends off of him, complaining about how he was gonna start sweating if they didn't give him some space. Edd was still smiling at him, a fond smile that made Eddy's palms sweat all over again. 

"Do I have something on my face?"

"No," Edd replied, the smile only growing. "We should start heading back home though," he said, his gaze marking the position of the moon setting in the sky and clearly illuminated by the invisible sun's rays. He then looked at the ground, the earth beneath his feet, and laughed to himself. 

Eddy made a noise of agreement and turned away to head back to the neighborhood. Ed immediately hopped up and bounded after him while Edd stayed behind a moment to recycle their forgotten bottle. He jogged to catch up to the other two, the tiniest bit out of breath when he did despite the short distance. He fell into pace on Eddy's other side, all of them falling into a comfortable silence. 

It wasn't a long walk by any means, Edd's house being only a block away from the park's entrance, but Eddy found that Edd continued to follow along after they had already passed the walk up to his house. 

"Uh, Sockhead, I think you missed your stop," Eddy said, gesturing over his shoulder at the dark and quiet house on the corner. 

Edd looked back for a second but continued to walk in the direction of Ed's house. "I just wanted to be sure to wish you both a good night."

Eddy didn't buy it, but he also didn't feel like arguing. The booze they had imbibed earlier was starting to make him feel sluggish, and he didn't have it in him to start anything. 

Once at Ed's, they all circled around to his basement room window, Edd hovering nearby as Ed slipped through onto the floor. A loud thud followed by louder snoring could be heard not a moment later and Edd laughed, whispering a quiet goodnight and locking the window for him. 

Eddy had already begun walking back to the street, pausing for a moment so Edd could catch up. 

"Eddy, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Edd said once they were out in the middle of the cul-de-sac, the street lights illuminating them in a halo. 

"Yeah?" Eddy urged, turning toward his friend and stuffing his hands into his pants pockets. 

"In your analogy, why did you make me the sun? I always figured, if anything, you would be the sun and Ed and I merely orbiting planets."

"I already told you. You're the light. The sun makes light. You're the sun," Eddy haphazardly explained, his gaze beginning to dart around the darkened neighborhood. 

"Yes, but…"

"Listen Sockhead, don't read too much into it. It's not like I gave it much thought before I said it. I'm no poet," he said, pulling one of his hands free to rub at the back of his neck. 

Edd was smiling at him again, the same fond smile from before. "Well, even if you didn't give it much thought, I still thought it was very sweet."

Eddy gulped, nervous laughter bubbling out of his throat before he could stop it. "Ha yeah, sweet, right."

Edd moved forward then, smile still in place, and took Eddy's free arm, leading him out of the middle of the road and back in the direction of their homes. He said nothing about the blush now overtaking Eddy's face, and Eddy didn't either. 

Neither of them spoke again until they reached Eddy's yard. 

"Double D, I-"

"Eddy wait. There's something else I need to tell you," Edd interrupted and tugged Eddy to a stop. "I meant for this to be a surprise for you and Ed, but I can't wait any longer."

Eddy paused and looked back at him, trying to ignore the fact that their arms were still looped around each other and how warm it felt. 

"Yeah?"

"I decided on which school I'll be going to in the fall," he said and paused. 

"And?" Eddy urged, his stomach clenching for reasons that he wanted to blame on the alcohol only. He knew this was coming. He'd known for years that their trio was only temporary, that eventually they would split up and move on, Double D being the first choice to leave. He dreaded hearing it out loud though. He'd swept it under the rug for too long, and now he had no time to prepare for the blow that was about to come. 

"And I decided to stay here. There's a nice university about twenty minutes away with everything I could ask for, and-" 

Eddy stopped paying attention then, his heart in his throat now. He listened as Double D kept talking about the school's multi-floor library and its open labs, but he didn't catch any of the words. He felt Double D's arm still in his, the warmth spreading up his arm and into his chest. 

"Eddy? Did you hear me?" Edd asked and snapped Eddy out of his daze. 

Eddy focused on his face again, the look of worry in his eyes. He tried to ignore the blooming feeling in his chest as he spoke again. 

"You're staying home," he said. His voice sounded shakey to his own ears, but he hoped Edd didn't notice. 

Edd nodded, his free hand coming to rest on Eddy's forearm. 

"Then what the hell was I yelling about?" Eddy asked and laughed. 

Edd laughed with him, the smile that always made Eddy's palms sweat back in place. Eddy could have made a joke about how he was warm like the sun too, but again, he was no poet. 

"Wait, you're not stickin' around because you feel like you have to, right? Me and Ed ain't holding you back," Eddy asked. He had to know. He didn't think he could handle the guilt if he knew Edd had thrown away some golden opportunity just because he felt some weird form of loyalty toward his childhood friends. And when the hell did he start feeling guilty about things? Double D did some weird things to him. 

Edd released his arm, his hand finding Eddy's cheek instead. "I'm staying here because I want to, Eddy." He dropped his hand down to Eddy's shoulder then and leaned in again to press a quick kiss to the opposite cheek. "Besides, I still have some unfinished business here."

Eddy was blushing madly again but smiled back at his friend, his thoughts settled for the first time in years. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?" 

"Of course. Goodnight, Eddy," and he turned around, heading across the street and out of sight. 

Eddy watched him go for a moment then looked up to the sky, the horizon beginning to lighten in preparation for the oncoming sun. Eddy chuckled to himself and went inside. 

Unfinished business indeed.


End file.
